MLS – Is It Any Good?

With the MLS season in full swing, I thought I’d share a taste of how things are stateside.

Football or soccer as it’s more commonly known has always been a long way down the pecking order in the thoughts of sports fans over the pond. Often ridiculed for poor quality and seen as a retirement home for ex stars looking for one last payday. I thought I’d have a look and see what is the current state of affairs. Crowds vary from club to club and the current highest of the season was achieved by new club or franchise as they are known over there… Atlanta United. In excess 55k is their biggest to date with an average of 48k. At the other end of the scale Colombus Crew are averaging just over 13k. In whole some very healthy turnouts though.

There are a number of decent players currently plying their trade in the MLS at the moment. Most notably the likes of David Villa at New York City FC, Kaka at Orlando City and Ashley Cole at LA Galaxy.

The game has had it’s flaws since it’s relaunch as MLS in 1993. This was after a similar venture during the 70s with The North American Soccer League. One notable flaw was a kind of run up with the ball penalty shootout to decide any games that were drawn. However the game does now take on the more conventional worldly used way of football with a points system and drawn matches. They do take on a similar model to other American sports though regional conferences and a playoff system.

Overall I’m going to keep an eye on things and report how things are fairing in the MLS. I believe putting the league out to a wider audience is paramount in the continuation of it’s growth.